Days after finishing her first semester of medical school, Amaris Elston awoke in a hospital room. She felt drained as her body started to adjust to its new reality.

Surgeons with the University of Alabama at Birmingham have achieved a significant milestone in liver transplantation. The institution recently performed its 3,000th adult liver transplant, solidifying its position as a leading center for liver transplantation in the region and nation.

The 2024 Transplant Games of America brought together thousands of participants and spectators July 5-10 in Birmingham, Ala., to create a truly unforgettable experience. UAB Medicine was honored to serve as the presenting medical partner for the Games, which began in 1990 to support the gift of life that organ donation represents and celebrate the individuals and families touched by transplantation.

Ashley Nichols, 32, shares her journey from managing her type 1 diabetes to navigating her rare kidney-pancreas transplant with the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute care team.

People who have received transplants understand that organ transplantation offers a second chance at life. UAB Medicine patients Lucy Emonina and her daughter, Ovuke’ McCoy, share that understanding in a deeper way. They both were born with a serious heart condition and later received heart transplants. Since then, mother and daughter have enjoyed active lives, sharing their stories in various ways and serving as ambassadors for heart health and organ donation awareness.

Tabitha Derryberry, 49, is no stranger to chronic medical conditions. She has lupus, an inflammatory disease in which the immune system attacks joints, organs, and the skin. And when she was 35, Derryberry learned that her kidneys were failing due to having Sjögren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that attacks the body’s cells.

Damion Jones, 31, was at work when he felt the pain in his stomach. He knew that something wasn’t right, but neither he nor his employer’s onsite clinic could pinpoint what was wrong. Next came shortness of breath. “I couldn’t walk up the hill at work without getting winded,” Jones said. “And I couldn’t get rid of my cough.” So began the odyssey that eventually brought Jones to UAB’s Comprehensive Transplant Institute (CTI).

DeAnthonis Kelly’s world started to unravel when he came down with pneumonia in 2019 and got worse when he caught COVID-19 in 2020. Even after he recovered, Kelly found himself out of breath when he walked from the parking lot to his workstation at a steel plant.

Through a series of events and promotions each April, Legacy of Hope recognizes National Donate Life Month (NDLM). The observation was established by Donate Life America to raise awareness about organ donation and share the perspectives of individuals and families touched by donation and transplantation.

Alan Mayes, RN, a post-kidney transplant coordinator with the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute, retired in January 2024. During his long career, Mayes played a role in advances at UAB Medicine generally and in transplant medicine specifically. His supervisors and colleagues say he’ll be hard to replace.

Mary Beth Helms Templin had a lifetime of challenges with her lungs, starting with being diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at just three months old. Those challenges paled in comparison to Templin’s experience as a young adult, which ultimately led her to the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute to receive a double lung transplant.

Frank Reeves says he has two birthdays. The first was the day he was born 62 years ago, and the second was May 12, 1998 – the day he received his kidney transplant. Reeves’ difficult path to that second birthday began when he was 35 and serving as a police officer in Dothan, Ala.